A Thought Or Two

I need a heart that wants to obey, that desires to please my master. I need a radical trust in His character that naturally generates joy in following His lead.

Only through His grace, can I get to this point. For a moment, I wonder how I reach this point of radical trust. Then I realize that it is only through difficult situations and the challenge of decisions to be made that I will reach this place. But the appeal of this concept of radical trust makes me realize those hard times will be worth it.

I am watching Patricia and Susannah decorate their Christmas tree. Ah, I can't believe it is that time of the year again. Remembering past Christmas trees....
Last year was the epitome of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I was in the middle of moving from the apartment with C and P and moving to P-town. It was the first year I didn't get to decorate or have a tree. But P made my week by helping me make a tree out of a branch-yes, seriously-and ornaments out of tin foil and thread. :)

What I'm Thankful For...

What am I thankful for this week?

-A week off of school to let my brain cool off a bit and do some catching up on studying.

-An amazing Dad who lets me work with him whenever I randomly have time off.

-The broccoli cheese soup I got to eat for dinner. Thanks, Mom! :)

-Less than three weeks left of school.

-The way God is faithful to provide day by day for YWAM.

-That I got to talk to L for 50 minutes yesterday!!!! I haven't talked to him for that long in about a month. Wooopeee!!!

-Laughing with my sister about appendicitis and the hilarity of googling symptoms...

-A little sister who is always up to giving me a hug.

Guess what!?

So....I GOT AN INTERVIEW FOR KSU'S VET SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!! I am scheduled for an interview at 8:30 in the morning on December 20th. I can't believe it. This is something that has been in the works since high-school and now...Who knows, I may not get in. And that would be okay. Then again I may get in. Maybe God has been helping me out all along so that I could get to this place. Only time will tell. But until then I will jump up and down that I have an interview.

Plus, it is the Friday before break. Who couldn't be full of energy at the thought of having a whole week in which I will not be assigned any more homework. This is the first break I have decided to take it easy and not do a whole lot. Usually I hop on a plane and go see family or hop in a car with a bunch of people and go build houses. He he...But this time it is going to be chill. God provided me with some work with my Dad for a few days which will help in the mulah department. And I have 8 finals to study for, so I will have no reason to complain about being bored. :)

The Adventure

So, yesterday, I was just workin' on homework, played my guitar a little bit, did some more homework, made cereal bars, did some more homework, went to the bank, did some more homework. 4:30 rolls around, and I was literally about to jump out of my skin. I tried doing a hundred crunches and 20 pushups. That was nice. For about 30 minutes. Since I didn't want to do like 500 crunches over the course of the day, certain that my lunch would be squished back up and out my mouth. Ew... I decided to do something random!!!Therefore, I sent P a text message: "Want to drive to New Mexico". I get a text back, "What? When? Huh?". Then she calls me asking what in the world. I said I was serious. Let's just drive to New Mexico. Give me one good reason why not. So, we decided to go. Sadly, C had to be a good student and go to classes, so it was just P and I. So, we drove, got hungry, stopped and got some gas station food. Have you ever noticed how gas station food is like always mystery food. You never know what you're going to get....Anyway, we drove, and drove, and drove. Got to the border of New Mexico after talking about the meaning of life, the future, making music videos, etc. We stood in two states at once-seriously...In the middle of the night, pulled over and just did it. Oh, and we made sure the state of New Mexico would know that we had been there also. ;) Then we drove back, and drove, and drove, and drove, stopped and got some peach-o's... P is the only other person on the face of the planet that I know that likes these along with me. We drove, and finally got home. And went to bed. The End.

Now I have a few minutes before I need to take a micro test. So, I should probably start walking over to class right about now. Happy Wednesday!

A Thought

When we label someone, we fail to treat that person like Jesus would. We take a soul and cheapen it, render someone less than God made her [or her] to be. When we name her [or her], we accomplish what the Birlings couldn't bring themselves to do: elevate her closer to the image of God.

So let's not let anyone's name become a throwaway line. If we're going to say it, let's make sure we mean it ... because we're addressing an immortal in the flesh.

"Names and Labels" by George Halitzka on Boundless

The Weirdness of Me

I am going to win the contest for longest time on the internet in one shot. Um, I've been on for 9 hours. Almost ten...*cough, cough* There is a fantastic reason for this however. At least it is fantastic in my opinion. That guy that I rarely get to talk to. You know the one that is halfway around the world? Well, something going on today where he is up all night with access to a computer. Therefore, we "hung out" all day. He he...My sister looked at me a while ago and said I looked like a stoner cause my eyes were so wigged out from looking at a computer screen all day. :) And now it is nearly ten, I am super tired, and it is time for bed. Woo hoo!!! Good-bye weekend...

The Thought of the Day...

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about things concerning the future and different ideas and plans. I think this just inevitably happens when a person is about to graduate in a few weeks. :) The last thing I want is any part of my life to become apathetic or stagnant. I crave a challenge and am starting to think I am not going to grow out of it.

So, the thought of the day is that we are not truly living until we live to die for something. I think God created us and wired us to live with this type of passion. This thought was inspired while reading a book that my friend Ben gave me. It is the story of the guy who started the YWAM base that I will be going to. The quote that really got me thinking: "I believe there are hundreds of thousands of young people who are just waiting for a really challenging, dangerous job that requires them to give up everything. You may be one. The reward? Being a part of the climaxing event of all history-taking the gospel to every person on earth". -"Making Jesus Lord" by Loren Cunningham

dum dee dum

So, I had a primary interview at Office Depot this morning. Yay for the possibility of work over Turkey break and the few weeks after I get out of school before YWAM! My Mom was threatening to make me go live with C and P if I couldn't find a job, cause she couldn't handle me and the way I get with "non-activity". ha ha... :) I have a second interview tomorrow, and it looks like I will find out for sure then whether the job of stocking is mine. Wahoo!!!

After about a year or more of inactivity, I have picked up my friend Simon (my guitar) once again. It feels so good to be playing again and getting the calluses on my fingers. I am learning to play "More Than a Friend" by Jeremy Riddle and "You Have My Attention" by Copeland.

So, I gave a presentation in toxicology on CS Gas. I was inspired after L told me about how Marines (and others in various military branches) go through training that puts them through a gas chamber with CS gas. CS gas is also commonly known as tear gas or riot gas. Pretty sweet stuff really. It is a microscopic barb that attaches itself to anything that is slightly wet: eyes, nose, sweaty skin, etc. It makes a person sneeze, cough, have a burning skin sensation, and get a really snotty nose. Yummy!!! No wonder it quells riots. And how ironic that individuals in the military and those training for law enforcement positions have to expose themselves to it.

Only 2 days until the Spaghetti Dinner. I am excited to see what God does! :)

Argh!

I am learning so many things about myself lately. It is always really exciting to go through a time when life is stretching, because I know that God is teaching me. It stinks at the time, but there are no bones that are broken that He doesn't fix and wounds he doesn't bind (Job 5:18).

Realization one: I crave challenge. I need to fight for something. I am nearly to the end of the challenge of my undergrad, and I think part of my frustration lately is trying to decide what I want to tackle next. I am so afraid of an apathetic life that I get anxious about the next step. Plus, I have an added element to the decision that I have never had to consider before. I am not quite sure how to do that.

Realization two: I close off when I get frustrated. And I'm frustrated. Therefore, I am going into my "I-need-to-do-500-pushups-every-hour-to-get-rid-of-this-energy" mode. I recognize the good of a situation and the blessings, but I don't really understand how it all works out in the end. I have zero clue what is going on, and as a control freak of my own little bubble of a life :) my brain is going off in a bazillion different directions. I have little to no concept of being quiet and listening to Him and I just spin my wheels to try and make something happen. Ha ha...I can just imagine my Mom saying this about me when we're having a conversation. :)

So, what am I going to do about this? I am going to continue doing what it is I know I am supposed to be doing today. That includes being there for the people He has put into my life right now, studying for biochemistry, continually putting my frustrations and anxiety in His hands, and praising Him for whatever it is He blesses me with.

Go Craigs List

Craigs List. A fascinating place really. It can be good, and it can be...interesting. The place I was living up in Longmont this summer was found through Craigs List. Great experience really. I call the number in the listing, I agreed with the rent price, and told the lady what date I would be there. She said that she would be out of town at the time, but she would leave the door unlocked. I thought that meant unlocked as in not bolted. No, it meant literally open. I found my house right away the night I drove up, because it was the only house on the block with a wide open door.

Experience number 2 with Craigs List involves looking for a job. Yes, I am looking for a job. It looks like I will be a holiday employee of some Canon chain like Hastings or Wal-Mart. I shall know in a few days. In any case, I saw an ad for a business needing a cleaning person. Okay, cool, I think in my head. I send an e-mail about being interested. I get an e-mail back that says the position is open, but I have to be comfortable with nudity. The place that needed cleaning is a nude photography studio. The person also said there was a position open for modeling for fifteen bucks an hour. I felt like laughing out loud at my computer chair but was a little too shocked about my job inquiry to do so.

Conclusion: Craigs List is amazing and could potentially make for a good story. :)

Kinetics, Roundabout, and Mia

Satisfaction is finishing a enzyme kinetics take home test. Several hours and six pages later, I can set enzyme kinetics aside until the final. My next endeavor in biochemistry is to catch up on the carbohydrate chapter that I have basically done no studying on in an effort to digest enzyme kinetics. Ah, sounds like a fabulous Sunday afternoon form of entertainment. :)

So, the talk of my awesome tiny little town is the new roundabout. There are two factions of people. One group is excited that there will be some form of entertainment in town. In other words, we are talking about standing in the middle of the roundabout and watching people flip out because they have never encountered such a newfangled concept in all of their life. Then there is the the resentful faction. They question why the roundabout with literally 46 signs in it had to be put in the middle of town and ruin the groove of everything. My sister exemplifies this group in that she refuses to go into it and will go the long way through several grocery store parking lots to avoid it.

I found a new quote I love! Time to grab out the notebook of awesome random cool sayings.
"The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking." - mia hamm

Spaghetti Dinner

Woo hoo!!! Time for another spaghetti dinner. This strategy worked extremely well when I was raising for Africa, so I am going to try another one. Plus, it is a blast to make lots of spaghetti and just feed people. So, if anyone is interested in coming, it's on November 15th. So what if you live in another state? Fly down! :) He he...Just kidding, but you really are going to miss out on some killer spaghetti. ;)

Chicken With No Head!!!!!

Never thought I could say I was stoked about gram positive cocci. Well, I am. I found some and that makes my life a bazillion times easier. Woo hoo!!!! God is good. :) Took half of my biochem test today and think I did pretty good. I get the other half as a take-home on Friday...So, I have reached that point in the semester where I can see that the rest is going to absolutely fly by. It is so busy I will forget to count down the days to graduation. In the next two weeks, I have a biochem test, my micro lab project to finish, a presentation to give in toxicology, a micro lab test, and lots of homework. I better not blink or I might miss the last few weeks of my senior year. :)

I have two more fundraisers in the works coming up, so I am excited about that. I am trying to get a spaghetti dinner organized for November which had great success last time I did one. And also a servant auction during finals week that myself and another friend going to YWAM are planning.

Time to sign out. Tox lecture starts in like 4 minutes.

Success and Failure

Praise for the day. I successfully averted a parking ticket! :) I was walking to my car after lab today and saw a piece of paper on my windshield. I didn't think much of it until I realized no one else had one on their window. Dang it! I can't afford a ticket. I forgot to put my parking permit on my mirror. Ooops. So, I went to the sheriff's department on campus, handed them my ticket and parking permit and smiled really big. Ha ha...just kidding. I gave it to a girl who just checked I'd actually had the permit as long as I said I had. Success was mine!

And super worried about micro lab. I am not having any success whatsoever on my tests and isolations. This especially worries me since it is like 75% of my grade. Well, all I can do is continue to do my best and trust that God has it in His hands...That is a little hard considering the potential of not graduating because of a darn lab.

The Weekend Thus Far

It's been an eventful weekend so far.... :) On Halloween, Em, S, Ty, and I all dressed up. Emily was a fairy-no wait, pixie-Sarah was a hippie just like she is everyday, Ty was....Ty, and I was a cowgirl. I was proud, because everything for my costume was in my closet. Thank you, Sarah, for the ingenuity! Ha ha...So, we went to an art show that Em had a piece in and looked at art. But mostly ate the food that they had. Yay for mini candy bars and sugar cookies. Then Hastings to play Guitar Hero for a while. I may hit up Hastings every once in a while from now on and see if I can gain expert level. :) Then we watched a scary movie. So, if you want a good one, watch "The Strangers". Emily and I are pretty desensitized to them, because we have watched so many, but this was a good one. I'll never forget Em over on the couch literally screaming and Sarah and I cracking up at her. That was fun...

Then last night, went over to C and P's for an adios party for B. Leaving for Japan for 6 months to do missions work. Woo hoo!! We had pie tasty pecan pie, went for a walk downtown after it got dark, and just chilled. So, it is the perfect time for walking. Crunchy leaves are my friend!!! And I got to hold a friend's little tiny baby who was only like 3 months old. He fell asleep in my arms which basically made my entire day. :)

And now off to babysit for the day. My two short little heroes that I have in Sunday School I get to spend the day with while their parents go to Denver. Woo hoo! Wish me luck..... ;)